Never Say Goodbye
by TheSilverEternity
Summary: The scream broke through the nothingness, and he was pulled back into the pain. He couldn't count how many times he'd been told not to leave, even though he couldn't go anywhere. All the while, warms arms embraced him.


Silver says: Yay, it's finally edited!! I didn't do much, but I like it better now. Took out any romantic implications. Enjoy, and please review!!

Disclaimer: Nope, do not own Naruto.

* * *

For a while, it was like floating in nothingness. He couldn't recall where, or even who he was, and was content in the silence that enveloped him. It was like he could just rest for eternity. Above him was the faintest light. Below him, he presumed the ground.

He heard a scream, and it pulled him towards the ground. Someone was screaming… Who could it be? He frowned and wished the screaming would stop. It was giving him a headache. Or, maybe the pain was from something else. It was such an intense pain.

Then, there were warm arms around him. Suddenly, he could feel his body again, like he'd come back from a dream. Cold drops of water hit his face. He blinked. Was… was someone crying? There was a person whispering his name, over and over again. Or at least he presumed it was his name. The voice sounded so sad. Why was this person so sad? Come on, cheer up already. This wasn't like him…

"Don't go…" someone pleaded, voice cracking. Go? He wasn't going anywhere. What was this person talking about? Well, whoever it was, they were obviously crazy. He wasn't going anywhere. He was kind of lying down, how was one supposed to go anywhere when lying down? Especially when the other person had their arms around him.

Suddenly, everything was going black. Something pulled at him, drawing him back into the dark nothingness of before. A desire to remain there washed over him, and he attempted in vain to remain conscious and focused in this person's arms. However, the pull became stronger and stronger, until the pleading died out. He sighed. The boy gave in, and the shadows took him.

* * *

_A girl shrieked his name, her eyes filled with joy as she looked back at the boy of her dreams. He flinched at this, the high pitch voice giving him an immediate headache. How had she found him? After he'd gone to such painstaking effort to make sure he wouldn't be anywhere near her that day._

"_Hurry up!" she shouted back to him, a smile covering her face as she turned suddenly and raced after a blond boy. The blond, who was waving furiously, grinned from ear to ear, beckoning him. He looked up. And despite himself, he smiled. And followed._

* * *

_The two boys scowled at one another. They raced forward, jumped into the air. Both landed hard, but began running up immediately. A feeling of falling. He swiped with the weapon, marking his achievements. Then, he fell back to the Earth, feeling quite accomplished. Until he glanced at the other one, who had landed just after him. He had gone farther, even if it was only slightly. One smirked, the other glared, and both went again. They were at it until everything had gone dark and silent. Eventually, they had both made it all the way._

"_Shall we go back, then?" One asked, smiling over at the other. _

"_Yeah!" the other replied, face showing his glee. They arrived back together, the other slung over his shoulder, supporting each other. They were both smiling, looking happy with themselves._

"_We made it all the way to the top!"_

* * *

"_You…" The other boy was furious. He found it somewhat terrifying. Why was he so angry? What had he done? "The real you wouldn't act like this!! The real you would never be so scared!" He stared in shock. How right this boy was… it was somewhat frightening. "I know you too well! You aren't the boy I know!! He wouldn't run away like a scared little kitten!! I don't have to know the password to know that you aren't my teammate!!" _

_He felt ashamed. How could he have shown his weak state at a time like this? How could he have shown how scared he was in front of THAT person? He never should do something like that. He never should show weakness to the person he respected and hated so much. Well, maybe not hated…_

* * *

"_Please…" He was watching him with that stupid, happy, hopeful expression. "C'mon, everyone is worried" He had no idea. "Come back with me, everyone wants you back." He wasn't coming back. "Let's go." Not ever. "C'mon…" He smirked. The other was worried now. He took a step away. The other could see what was going on now. "No… Don't…"_

_He flew away suddenly, running for the trees. The other followed, of course. Or, he tried. "Move!" the other shouted, wishing nothing more than to follow him. And before long, he did. The other followed him through the trees. "I won't let you go…" They met. They fought. And in the end, the other had broken a promise. "Don't go…"_

* * *

"Please… Just speak to me. Call me an idiot. Say I'm annoying. Anything!!!" He blinked, and light was there again. There were more people now. "I don't care what you say!! I won't ever get mad at you for insulting me again!! Just, don't leave me!!" That other person was there again, crying and begging him to stay. Couldn't he see that he wasn't going anywhere? What was with this idiot?

He glanced around at the other faces, wishing they'd go away. Nothing was happening here, they should just go on with their lives! They all looked so sad… How could they be so sad? He had finally come back for good, and this was the way they reacted? They cried and looked as if someone had just died?

Hn. And he had thought that shinobi weren't supposed to ever show emotion. He smirked. So much for that. He heard someone gasp. But he didn't really care. He had never particularly cared what reactions he got out of people. He just did what he did.

"Please," There was that pleading voice again. It was so annoying. What did he want from him? He wasn't leavi- "Please, don't die…" His eyes widened. Pain washed over him, covering him from head to toe. Suddenly, he was burning. He felt like someone had stabbed him fifty times over with a knife. It hurt. His eyes began to water. He couldn't be… dying?

Many more people were crying now, everyone pleading to him. They were begging him. "Don't die…" They all whispered the same two words over and over, as if it would do something. He began to panic inside his mind. Why wasn't anyone doing anything? Why weren't they taking him to the hospital? He needed medical attention! Why…

* * *

"_Y-you…" The other was staring, eyes wide, at the boy in front of him. His eyes were on the verge of overflowing. But he wiped at them quickly, evidently trying to hide his surprise and relief. After all, no matter the circumstances, that boy could never show his weakness to him of all people._

"_You came… back?" The other's voice was quivering. The boy nodded, and the other walked over, slowly. So very slowly. They stared at one another. The other smiled. And he smiled back. It was like nothing had happened. Like old times._

* * *

"_Be careful, kay?" The other said, looking at the boy worriedly. Though, he was in no way a boy anymore. "I don't want you getting killed out there. In fact, why don't I just come with you?" He shook his head. "Why not?"_

"_This is something I have to do on my own." He knew. _

"_But, I want to help you." There was no way the other would let him go alone. It was just the way he was. But this was his mission, his vendetta. He couldn't allow the other to get involved. Even more than that, he couldn't take the blow to his pride. This was HIS battle. He had to fight it alone._

"_But-"_

"_No, I go alone." And he did. Or so he thought._

* * *

_He was being beaten. It wasn't fair. He had trained so much, just for this. Why was it he was still too weak? "I told you… you'll never have enough hatred to defeat me. And now, because you refuse to listen, I'll make sure you never bother me with your pitiful attempts again." A sudden pain ripped through him. He heard the sound of a liquid hitting the ground, and looked down. He was bleeding profusely. _

_The other screamed out his name, ready to come in at any moment and save him. _

"_I told you not to come!" The other held back. He wasn't sure why. It made no sense to stay back and watch him be beaten. Be hurt so badly. But… He looked so desperate. He couldn't possibly interfere. Not when he looked like that. Not when his pride was on the line._

_He was in so much pain. The other looked ready to fight for him, fight with him. But he couldn't possibly let him help. It would mean giving up, and giving up wasn't an option. He had dedicated his life to this, and if he couldn't do it alone, he didn't deserve to exist at all._

_But suddenly, he was burning all over. It hurt. He had taken too many blows; his blood was splattered all over the ground. There were puddles of it. Too many wounds… He began to fall. Everything seemed to stop for a moment. He saw the other, rushing towards him, fear written all over his face. He saw that man, leaving his brother and only family left behind to die. But that was expected. It was him, after all._

* * *

He began to cry. This wasn't fair. As much as he had said it didn't matter before…

"I don't want to die." He whispered, fear filling his voice. The other stared down at him, eyes full of tears. They were falling on his face, making cold splashes. "Don't let me die…"

The other gulped down his tears. He looked up, away from the dying boy beneath him. Pleading with everyone around the two of them. He was met with sad stares and heads shaking. "I… I can't do anything." He looked back down. "I can't stop it, we're too far…"

He didn't understand. How could they be too far? There were so many people around him, couldn't they help? And if they couldn't, they could take him somewhere else, where people could help him.

"You've lost too much blood…" Someone else's voice. "We can't make it in time." The other was crying again. He allowed his tears to fall from his face to the dying boy's face. Then, he pulled the dying boy close to his chest and cried into his hair. Blue-black hair. It was soft. But there was blood drying in it, making it stiff.

He pushed a bit away. Everything was fading again, but he knew it would be for good this time. He would not come back from the nothingness this time. He pulled himself up, letting his mouth hover near the other's ear.

"Naruto, I…" His breath was getting wispy, shortening. He could hardly see. Everything was spinning, but he held tight to that boy. Grasped his arm to keep himself up, because he had to say this, and it was just for him. "Th-thank you… for being my f-f-frie…" The breath stopped, and he winced. He fell back, mouth slipping away from the other's ear.

The other caught him, held him up. He listened, felt for air. But now all he could hear was his own breath, and the breathing of the ones standing around him. The boy in his arms… He wasn't breathing. The other held him close, feeling the boy's heartbeat slow down, and then stop. He held his breath. It didn't start again.

"Sasuke…" The other whispered, his blond hair moving slightly in a breeze. "Please, Sasuke, don't leave me again…" But he got no response. The boy in his arms, the boy he had cherished for so long, respected, wanted to be like… Sasuke Uchiha was dead.


End file.
